Spatial Data Design

Farmers’ Markets

Farmers’ Markets are perhaps the best way to buy local food, which is wonderful for several reasons:

1) You support people in your area who are often struggling, instead of the owners of large plantations.

2) Frequently local farmers grow organic, and farmers’ markets are a great way to get such organic food at less than supermarket price (because there’s no overhead from the stores). That is, if there are organic farmers who participate in your local market.

3) Most of our produce is transported from elsewhere in the country, which has a high “carbon cost”; in other words, gasoline (probably diesel, and not the bio- kind) was burned to just move the produce to where you are. By buying your fruit and vegetables from local farmers at a farmers’ market, you reduce that carbon cost for your food down to near zero.

So, with that all said, there’s a great site through which you can find farmers’ markets in your area, at the USDA website.